Barcelona: Treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Licensing opportunity

Researchers from the Biomedical Research Institute of Barcelona CSIC (IIBB-CSIC), an affiliate of the Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), have discovered and patented a cell transplant method to stop and reverse the lung disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in an animal model, and a clinical study is now due to take place in the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona.

The technique involves the transplantation of type II pneumocytes, cells that are involved in the repair of damage alveolar tissue. The minimally invasive procedure results in the regeneration of alveoli in a rat model of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

CSIC has patented the cell suspension used in the transplants. The planned clinical study will involve six patients who will receive a suspension of type II pneumocytes from a dead donor. Currently these cells cannot be cultured in the laboratory but the researchers are now investigating whether it is possible to obtain type II pneumocytes from adult stem cells.